Laura Merling is a proven strategist and innovator with a successful track record of building high performing teams. Laura specializes in defining technology and best practices that drive growth. She brings over 20+ years of Leadership, Business Development and Strategic Growth experience. Her background ranges from leading Engineering teams, to leading Product Management and Business Development teams at Startups and Fortune 500 companies. Laura is an investor in technology startups at the intersection of software and hardware. Examples of investments include Skully, Butterfleye, Carvoyant, and 3D Robotics. Specialties: Strategy, Product Management, Digital Experience, Program Management, Operations, eCommerce, Mobile

Global GM/EVP Internet of Things @ Currently responsible for SAP's Industrial IoT (Internet of Things) organization, including Strategy, Solution Management, and Go to Market. From July 2015 to September 2015 (3 months) VP Digital Experience @ From June 2014 to June 2015 (1 year 1 month) Dallas/Fort Worth AreaVP Ecosystems and Solutions @ Define and deliver mobile network services as application programming interfaces (APIs) to our enterprise customers; ie mobile identity services and mobile collaborations tools. From December 2012 to May 2014 (1 year 6 months) San Francisco Bay AreaSVP Application Enablement @ Responsible for the business unit; created and delivered software that enables the mobile network to be a developer platform. Key customers included A&T and TMobile. From December 2009 to December 2012 (3 years 1 month) Strategy, Marketing, and Business Development @ Marketing and business development strategy and programs execution consulting services clients. Client Highlights: Mobile Platform Vendor: Define and execute go to market strategy for application distribution platform, developer programs, and community initiatives. On Demand Messaging Platform for Social Data: Define sales strategy, recommend market segmentation, and establish key relationships in media, entertainment, and retail. Retail, Media, and Financial Services : Provide guidance to web services/API strategy, identify revenue opportunities, and recommend go to market model. From June 2009 to January 2012 (2 years 8 months) VP Sales and Marketing @ Responsible for creating and driving the new business strategy for the company including sales, marketing, and new market development. Forged key relationships with heavyweight customers such as The New York Times, CBS Interactive, The Guardian, Nielsen, AP, and Best Buy, as well as others in Travel and Telecom. Led the team to record sales, increasing bookings year over year by more than 5x. From February 2008 to May 2009 (1 year 4 months) VP Marketing and Business Development @ Krugle is a vertical search company offering specialized search for software development. Solutions include a public search engine which indexes all publicly available source code, and an enterprise search appliance for internal software development teams. From September 2006 to February 2008 (1 year 6 months) Executive Director/CEO @ SDForum is a high tech organization where grassroots and leading edge software developers have gathered for over 23 years. The mission is to catalyze entrepreneurial activity by bringing together the people, the technology, and the issues faced by the industry. From August 2002 to September 2006 (4 years 2 months) VP Marketing/Products @ Intershop is an established provider of enterprise software including ecommerce platforms, content management, procurement, and vertical solutions. The company was founded in 1992. From 2000 to 2002 (2 years) Director, Product Marketing @ Ten North was a leading customer relationship management vendor (CRM), offering their solution as an application service provider. From 1998 to 2000 (2 years) Senior Product Manager, Enterprise Application Server, Internet Division @ Early employee of Powersoft Corporation, leading 4GL software development tool. Powersoft was acquired by Sybase. From 1994 to 1998 (4 years) PowerBuilder Developer and Professional Services Consultant @ From 1994 to 1996 (2 years) Waltham, MABusiness Analyst @ From 1992 to 1994 (2 years) Somers, NYBusiness Analyst @ From 1988 to 1992 (4 years) Dearborn, MI

Economics @ Oakland University Laura Merling is skilled in: Digital Strategy, E-commerce, Product Management, Enterprise Software, APIs, Business Strategy, Product Marketing, Strategy, Cloud Computing, SaaS, Program Management, Start-ups, Go-to-market Strategy, Business Development, Telecommunications, Strategic Partnerships, Global Business..., PaaS, Marketing Strategy, Mobile Devices, Leadership, Mobile Technology, Start-up